February 2, 2016 edition
With a 1.49 percent annual growth rate, Indonesia's current population of more than 250 million is expected to surpass that of the United States by 2043, possibly becoming the third most populous country after China and India. Despite a national family planning program in place since 1967, Indonesia continues to struggle with various sociocultural constraints that prevent it from becoming more effective and efficient. Such issues emerged during the recent International Conference on Family Planning in Nusa Dua, Bali.
On the sidelines of the biennial conference, Tempo English contributing editor Cory Rogers spoke to Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, the current executive director of the United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA). Dr. Osotimehin, a Nigerian national who is serving his second term as head of UNFPA, shared his views on how empowering women through sexual and reproductive health rights is a key to unlocking Indonesia's development potential. Excerpts of the interview:
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January 26, 2016 edition
Hilmar Farid rejects the notion that his new position as director-general of culture at the education and culture department was given to him for his contribution to President Joko Widodo's campaign in 2014. Hilmar insists he had to undergo the entire recruitment procedure, beating all his rivals through a very tight selection process. Hilmar, 47, a University of Indonesia graduate, was sworn in into his new job on December 31, 2015.
He can be said to be the first echelon-one government official outside the bureaucracy to have won the job. Hilmar, who will head a corps of about 3,600 employees, must now adapt to the rhythm of his new job. It is, after all, his first time as a bureaucrat. Until now, he had always been a historian, working in the world of academics, with people's organizations and pro-democracy groups.
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January 19, 2016 edition
Ade Komarudin wasted no time in stepping on the gas pedal soon after he was sworn in to replace House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Setya Novanto who recently resigned. Ade, a native of Purwakarta, went on a marathon of meetings with the heads of political parties. Ade first met with National Democrat (NasDem) Chairman Surya Paloh. The next day, Ade attended the swearing-in ceremony of ambassadors at the State Palace, where he met with Hanura Party Chairman Wiranto. He also plans to eventually pay his respects to Megawati Soekarnoputri, who leads the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
In fact, Ade's political consolidation actually began before he took over the reins of the legislature. He even went to see Democrat Party Chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, telling him, "I will have met with 10 political party chiefs and influential people," Ade recounted last week.
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January 12, 2016 edition
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has a new captain: Agus Rahardjo. Together with his co-chairpersons-Basaria Panjaitan, Saut Situmorang, Alexander Marwata and Laode Muhammad Syarif-Agus, 59, was sworn in by President Joko Widodo on December 21, 2015, following his selection by the Law Committee of the House of Representatives (DPR). He got 44 votes, while Basaria got 9 votes and Saut one vote.
The new KPK leaders inherited a pile of problems. Prominent among them are the charges against former KPK chairmen Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto and the criminalization of KPK investigator Novel Baswedan. Then there's the internal conflict between the staff and the acting chairman of the KPK, Taufiequrachman Ruki. Agus' burden will be further complicated by the DPR's campaign to revise the law on the KPK, a measure generally regarded as an attempt to weaken the antigraft organization.
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January 5, 2016 edition
The National Police Crime Investigation Division (Bareskrim) has come under the public spotlight for its questionable actions. Recently, the national ombudsman found that the Bareskrim had mishandled the case of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan, who has been charged over a crime he allegedly committed years ago.
There have been assumptions that Novel is being charged because of his investigation into the corruption charges of Police Comr.Gen. Budi Gunawan, currently the national police deputy chief. The charge against Novel is that he allegedly shot a bird-nest thief, when he was posted at the Bengkulu police precinct 11 years ago.
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December 29, 2015 edition
Busyro Muqoddas claims he felt relieved he wasn't chosen to be a leader of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), being well-aware of the political reasons behind the selection of the new KPK leaders for the 2015-2019 period. He assumes that the reason he was not selected may have been his hard questions on the lawmakers and his strong opposition to the proposed revisions to Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK.
In mid-December, the House of Representatives' (DPR) Commission III selected five new leaders of the KPK, out of 10 candidates submitted by a panel that President Joko Widodo had selected. Among the 10 nominees, three were experienced KPK officials: Busyro Muqoddas, Johan Budi SP and Sujarnako. Not surprisingly, none of them was selected.
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December 22, 2015 edition